Self-propelled drilling machine



Nov. 28, 1967 w. EBELING 3,354,969

SELF-PROPELLED DRILLING MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1963 6 Shets-Sheet 1INVE/WUF 7/ v y I 4/02.}?4/1; 1 7;

6' Sheets-Sheet 2 W. EBELING SELF'PROPELLED DRILLING MACHINE Nov. 28,1967 Filed Sept. 25, 1965 Nov. 28, 1967 w. EBELING 3,354,969

SELF-PROPELLED DRILLING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 25, 1963 We-Wm? Nov. 28, 1967 w. EBELING 3,354,969

SELF-PROPELLED DRILLING MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1963 ,s Sheets-Sheet 4Nov. 28, 1967 w. EBELING SELF-PROPELLED DRILLING MACHINE s Sheets-Sheet5 Filed Sept. 25, 1963 FIG. /0

Nov. 28, 1967 w. EBELING SELF-PROPELLEQ DRILLING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet6 United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A self-propelleddrilling'machine having at the front end of its rigid elongated housinga drilling tool for drilling a hole into which the elongated housing ofthe machine can pass and provided with means on the housing foradvancing and guiding the latter in the bore hole.

The present invention concerns a self-propelled drilling machine havinga drilling tool and a housing which slides in the drill hole and inwhich the driving mechanism .for the drilling tool and the advancingmechanism are accommodated. Self-propelled drilling machines are .knownper se. However, they suffer from the disadvantage vof requiring anexternal force such as gravity and there- .fore, they can drillpractically only downwardly. In addition they are very unreliable withregard to maintaining the desired drilling direction.

The object of the present invention is to avoid the .above mentioneddisadvantages and to provide a selfpropelled drilling machine which canwork under its own power in any desired direction, e.g. upwardly, andwhich, in addition, maintains the desired drilling direction with greataccuracy.

This object is achieved by the present invention in .that the housing isconstructed rigid throughout from one end to the other, furthermore, theradial guide hearing for the drilling tool is provided at the front ofthe rigid housing and, finally for guiding the housing in the bore holea guide device is used at the front and another guide device at the rearof the housing.

In one embodiment of the invention the guide device at the front of therigid housing consists of rollers which are driven mechanically and arepressed against the wall .of the bore hole for producing the necessaryforward motion.

In another embodiment of the invention the front guide device comprisesclamping members which are guided both radially and axially displaceablyin the rigid housing and are driven in the manner of a stridingmechanism.

Another embodiment of the invention is achieved by using an auxiliarymechanism for supporting and guiding the drilling machine during theinitial drilling operation, said auxiliary device comprising a guide wayfor the drilling machine resting on a support.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the drilling machine with an auxiliarydevice for the initial drilling;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the drilling machine according to FIG. 1,but shown in a different application;

FIG. 3 is the same side elevation of the drilling machine as in FIG. 1,but on a larger scale;

FIG. 4 is an axial longitudinal section of the drilling machine shown inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section, on a larger scale, taken on the line VV ofFIG. 4:

FIG. 6 is as an axial section, of a detail of FIG. 2 also on a largerscale;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the second embodiment of the drillingmachine showing a second embodiment of the auxiliary mechanism for theinitial drilling;

FIG. 8 shows the drilling crown and a portion of the auxiliary mechanismwith guide sleeve withdrawn;

FIG. 9 is a section taken on the line IXIX of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 shows, on a larger scale, an axial section through a portion ofthe drilling machine according to FIG. 7; and

FIG. 11 shows a section of the drilling machine on the line XIXI of FIG.10;

FIG. 12 shows another section of the drilling machine shown in FIG. 10along line XII-XII;

FIG. 10a shows an axial section through a portion of the drillingmachine shown in FIG. 10 in another position;

FIG. 11a shows a section on the line XIa-Xla of the drilling machine inthe position shown in FIG. 10a; and

FIG. 12a shows another section of the drilling machine in the positionshown in FIG. 10a along line XIIa-XIla.

The embodiment of the drilling machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 comprisesthe driving mechanism 1, 2, the advancing mechanism 3 and the drillingtool 4, 5. In the embodiment illustrated, the drill motor 1, whichtogether with the reduction gearing 2 forms the driving mechanism, is anelectric motor which is fed through the lead 6. The motor housing 7forms, with the intermediate flange 8 and the gear casing 9, a rigidhousing throughout, the front end of which receives a radial guide andaxial pressure bearing 10 for the drilling tool 4, 5. Immediately behindthese is a front guide device 11, 12 for radially guiding the machine inthe bore hole, which device consists of four pairs of rollers 11, 12.Another guide device 13 is mounted on the rear end of the housing andconsists, in the embodiment illustrated, of four skids 13.

In order to hold the drilling machine in any position in the bore holeand to support it against the drilling pressure and the reaction momentof the drilling tool, a clamping device is provided which co-operateswith the walls of the bore hole and is combined, in the illustratedembodiment with the front guide mechanism 11, 12 while the rollers 11,12 are provided with pointed teeth 14 for improving the grip on the wallof the bore hole and are constantly pressed outwardly by axial springs15 (FIG. 5).

To produce the forward motion, the roller system is also the advancingmechanism, the worm 17 and worm gears 18 are driven by the drivingmechanism through a feed gearing 16. The feed gearing 16 comprises aplanetary gearing, the sun gear 19 of which is disposed on the hollowshaft 20 driving the outer drilling bit 4, while a flange 21 isconnected to the worm 17, the gearring 22 is retarded by the throttledhydraulic pump 24 by way of a gear 23, whereby an automaticallycontrolled advance is obtained dependent upon the drilling pressure.

A remotely controlled rapid operation is possible in this embodimentthrough the one way clutch 25 which, during the drilling operationallows the hollow shaft 29 to rotate more rap-idly than the worm shaft17 but, when the motor rotates in the opposite direction, couples bothshafts together, whereby the rollers 11, 12, run backwardly at increasedspeed.

A one-way clutch 26 couples the hollow shaft 20 with the outer borecrown 4 and allows the crown to be stationary during reversed rapidoperation.

The inner bore crown 5 rotates in the opposite direction to the outerbore crown 4 and also at a higher speed. This partly compensates thetorque reaction moment on the one hand, and keeps the cutting speedwithin finer limits. For this purpose a differential gearing 27 is used,which drives the hollow shaft 20 and consequently the outer bore crown4, while a center shaft 28 driving the inner bore crown 5, extendsdirect from the reduction gear 9.

To facilitate transport, the embodiment is provided with the possibilityof division between the drill motor 1 and the gear casing 2. Both partsare separated by loosening the flange screws 29, both halves of theshaft coupling 30 being drawn apart. The driving gear remains sealed bythe wall 31 secured separately to the gear casing 2 with shaft packing32.

The advancing and guiding rollers 11, 12 are provided in pairs on theends of a shaft 33 journalled in the casing 2 and are coupled to theirshaft by coarse threads 34. In this way the pressure force of therollers against the bore wall is increased with increasing drillingpressure and it is compensated in the shaft itself.

The pairs of rollers are arranged with their shafts in their respectiveplanes in pairs and in the following plane at a relative angulardisplacement. Each shaft carries in the center its respective worm-gear18. All these wormgears 18 mesh in the common worm 17. In this manner, acomparatively large number of symmetrical advancing rollers can beaccommodated in a very small space with a favorable distribution offorce in the driving mechanism.

The direction of the drilling can be influenced during the drillingoperation if one or both guide devices are provided with remotelycontrolled adjusting means which render possible radial displacement ofthe drilling machine housing in the bore hole. In the embodimentillustrated the rear guide skids 13 are radially displaceably hinged tothe bolts 35 and are pressed outwardly by the pistons 36. Electricallyremote-control valves 37 are inserted in the supply lines to eachpiston. The hydraulic control system is fed from the pump 38 which isdriven by the drill motor 1.

To assist the initial boring operation, this embodiment uses a tubularguide member 61 which is mounted on a rail 62. The guide member 61serves to receive the front guiding and advancing device 3 of thedrilling machine. The rear part of the drilling machine, at firstprojecting from the rear of the guide body 61, is supported in a clip 63which is axially displaceable on the rail 62. The rail 62 is alsoaxially displaceable in a bearing 64 which is pivotable about the point65 (FIG. 1). The entire initial drilling mechanism rests on a mobilechassis 66 and thus can also be used as a means for transporting thedrilling machine. A chute 67 connected to the pipe 61 serves to removethe earth 68 displaced by the drilling. A winch 69 serves to wind andunwind the power supply line 6 during the drilling.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 the housing of the drillingmachine is provided at its rear end with a sealing member 40 which sealsrelatively to the wall 39 of the bore hole and has a sleeve 41. Acompressed air supply pipe 43 leads into the thus sealed front part 42of the bore hole and a discharge pipe 44 leads out of it. From thecompression chamber 70 the compressed air flows through the filter 51and the supply line 43 using the appropriate suitable parts of thedrilling machine such as shafts 28, 58, 59, which for this purpose aremade hollow (cavity 57 of the shaft 28 and cavity 60 of the shaft 59) tothe front end of the drilling machine, i.e., to the tip of the drillingcrown 5. The return of the scavenging air is between the outer wall ofthe drilling machine and the wall of the bore hole as far as the sealingmember 40 and from there through the outlet opening 44 and the blastpipe 45 into the open air. In this manner the earth is blown into thedischarge pipe 45 and can be pneumatically removed. The discharge pipe45 is drawn along by the drilling machine and consists of separateinterconnected tubular members which are added during the drillingoperation.

The scavenging air may be fed externally through a hose drawn along bythe drilling machine. However, in accordance with the present inventionthe air may be fed through the bore hole itself if a further sealingmembe 47 is fitted at the beginning 46 of the bore hole and is pressedagainst the wall of the bore hole and has openings 48 for the intake ofcompressed air and for the passage of the scavenging air pressure pipeline 45 and if desired, the power supply line 6. In the illustratedembodiment the sealing body 47 is braced by a hose 49 subjected tointernal pressure. Resilient sleeves 50 are provided for the sliding,but sealed passage of the scavenging air pipe line 45 and the supplyline 6.

The compressor 52 is connected through the hose 53 with the inletopening 48 of the sealing member 47. The winch 54 stores the supply line6. The expelled earth is received in a truck 55, for example, on whichthe blast pipe 45 is supported by means of a roller 56.

If the driving motor of the drilling machine is a compressed air motor,the discharge air thereof can be used for removing earth, its exhaustair pipe being arranged in the front sealed bore hole portion 42.

This last method of use is particularly suitable for ad vancinghorizontal and downwardly inclined bores.

The embodiment of the drilling machine shown in FIGS. 7 to 11 consistsof the bipartite, oppositely rotating drilling tool 71, 72 and aquadripartite housing 73, 74, 75, 76. The housing member 73 contains theadvancing mechanism, the member 74 a hydraulic pump for the advancingmechanism, the member 75 the reduction gear= ing and the member 76 theelectric driving motor. The parts 73, 74, 75, 76 of the housing aretightly bolted to= gether. At the rear end of the motor housing 76 aguide device is provided in the form of guide skids 77 and a powersupply line 78 and a traction rope 79 are also connected to this end.

The advancing mechanism fitted in the front member 73 of the housing isconstructed as a clamping device operating step by step and servingsimultaneously .also as a second guide device.

In FIG. 10 the starting position of the clamping memhers is shown whilethe clamping position of the clamping members in the bore hole is shownin FIG. 10a.

Three clamping jaws 80 provided on the periphery are radially andaxially displaceable in windows 81 of the housing 73 and guidedlaterally. They are radially supported on a hollow cyinder 82 which inturn is axially displaceable at both ends in the cylinder bores 83, 84of the housing 73. Mounted on each clamping jaw 80 are two spreadingwedge-shaped members 85 which rest by means of rollers 86 oncorresponding wedges 87. The rollers 86 move in cages 88.

The head end of the hollow cylinder 82 is constructed as a ring piston89 with sleeves 90 and is moved axially rearwardly relative to thehousing 73 by pressure oil introduced into the cylindrical space 91. Aninitially tensioned return spring 92 presses the hollow cylinder 82constantly forwardly and throws it back into the starting position onthe completion of the working stroke.

The clamping jaws 80 and the front spreading wedges 87 rigidly connectedto the hollow cylinder 82 on the one hand and to the housing 73 on theother hand, are provided with stops 93, 94 and 95, 96 respectivelyassociated with each other which are all in contact when the hollowcylinder 82 is in its foremost outlet position. Hinged to the front endsof the clamping jaws 80 are cover plates 97, 98 which cover the parts ofthe window openings 81 not covered by the clamping jaws and slide bytheir free side on plane surfaces 99, 100 of the housing 73. The coverplates 97, 98 are pressed on by leaf springs 101, 102 which are mountedon the housing 73 and have the width of the windows and therebycontribute to the better sealing of the inner parts of the stridingmechanism.

The free edges 103 of the lower cover plates 98 are bevelled and thelength of the leaf springs 102 is selected so that their front edgesrest on these bevelled portions when the clamping jaws 80 are in thestarting position.

The hollow cylinder 82 at its rear end has a second smaller annular ringpiston surface 104 which seals the cylindrical space 106 jointly withthe seal 105 provided in the housing. By reversing the supply line, thepressure oil of the pump is fed to this small cylinder 106. Thus, withthe same delivery quantity of the pump, the stepping speed is increased,for example, for use when the drilling machine is returned to the drillhole after a change of cover.

A ring of three separate spring jaws 107 is always under the pressure ofthe intially tensioned spring assembly 108. The spring jaws are guidedlaterally in accurately shaped recesses in the housing 73 but areaxially displaceable until they come into contact with the stops 109.

The hollow cylinder 82 and the inner cylinder bush 110 are constructedhollow in order to permit the passage of the concentric driving shafts111, 112 for the two drilling bits.

The hydraulic pump for feeding the hydraulic advancing mechanism isfitted in the member 74 of the housing and is driven, together with thedrilling bits 71, 72 by way of the reduction gear 75 from the drivingmotor 76.

In the initial drilling operation, the drilling machine is guided in aninitial drilling mechanism 113-123 which consists of a tubular beadmember 113 with its guide rail 114 mounted thereon, a guide carriage115, two rams 116, a yoke 117 and a support 118 for the guide rails 114and a base plate 119. The yoke 117 is mounted on the bars 120 of therams 116 and holds the head member 113 against the clamping bar 122(FIG. 9) by the clamps 121. The head member 113 and the guide rail 114are axially displaceable by the lifting mechanism 123.

At the beginning of the initial drilling (FIG. 8), the outer drillingcrown 72 is fitted with special enlarging blades 124 which extend thebeginning 125 of the hole to the outer diameter of the head member 113.In the second phase of the initial drilling (FIG. 7), the enlargingblades 124 are exchanged for normal drilling blades 126 and a headmember 113 is drawn into the beginning 125 of the hole. In this mannerperfect transition of the head member into the bore hole and goodstability of the initial drilling mechanisms are ensured. Both areessential for perfect initial drilling and for accuracy in the directionof drilling.

The base plate 119 connecting the two rams 116 carries a roller support127. This serves to guide the traction rope 79 to its distant winch. Thedrilling machine can be withdrawn by the rope 79 from the drill hole atany time, when it is necessary to overcome the friction of the springjaws 107 against the wall of the bore hole.

I claim:

1. A self-propelled drilling machine comprising, in combination, a rigidhousing; a radial guide bearing at the front end of said housing; adrilling tool rotatably mounted in said radial guide bearing and of asize suitable to bore a hole into which said housing can pass; a drivingmechanism in said housing and coupled to said drilling tool for drivingthe same; an advancing mechanism disposed in said housing for advancingthe machine in the bore hole and comprising rollers disposed on theperiphery of said housing, shafts transversely mounted in said housingand each carrying a pair of said rollers respectively on opposite endportions of said shafts, steeppitch screw threads formed at said endportions of said shafts and in engagement with corresponding steep-pitchscrew threads formed in bores of said rollers, springs acting on saidrollers for urging the same outwardly, and gear means coupling saidrollers to said driving mechanism; and a guide device at the rear ofsaid housing for guiding said housing in said bore hole.

2. A drilling machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said gear meanscomprises a worm disposed in the axis of the machine and a worm gearprovided centrally on each shaft and meshing with said worm gear.

3. A self-propelled drilling machine, comprising, in combination, arigid housing; a radial guide bearing at the front end of said housing;.a drilling tool having several contra-rotating parts of differentdiameters rotatably mounted by said radial guide bearing and of anoverall size suitable to bore a hole in which said housing can slide; adriving mechanism disposed in said housing and coupled to said drillingtool parts for driving the same in opposite directions; a one-way clutchdisposed between said driving mechanism and said drilling tool; anadvancing mechanism disposed in said housing for advancing said machinein the bore hole; and a guide device at the rear of said housing forguiding said housing in said bore hole.

4. A drilling machine as defined in claim 3, wherein said drivingmechanism comprises a driving motor having a motor shaft and a reductiongearing having an input shaft, disposed in respective portions of saidhousing, and releasable connecting means coupling said shafts for jointrotation.

5. A- drilling machine as defined in claim 3, wherein said housing iscomposed of a plurality of portions connected to each other forseparation of said housing into said portions.

6. A self-propelled drilling machine comprising, in combination, a rigidhousing formed with windows therein; a radial guide hearing at the frontend of said housing; a drilling tool rotatably mounted by said radialguide bearing and of a size suitable to bore a hole into which saidhousing can pass; a driving mechanism disposed in said housing andcoupled to said drilling tool for driving the same; an advancingmechanism disposed in said housing for advancing said machine in thebore hole and comprising stepping members disposed in said windows andadapted to. engage the Wall of the bore hole, means located entirelywithin said housing and guiding said stepping members for radial andaxial movement in said, windows relative to said housing, and mechanicaloperating means imparting said radial and axial movements to saidstepping members in a sequential manner such that a stepping motion ofsaid machine relative to said bore hole is obtained; and a guide deviceat the rear of said housing for guiding said housing in said bore hole.

7. A drilling machine as defined in claim 6, and including clampingmeans comprising a plurality of clamping jaws mounted for radialmovement outward of said housing, and preloaded spring means urging thejaws outwardly.

8. A drilling machine .as defined in claim 6, wherein said housing istubular, said stepping members being in the form of clamping jaws andsaid operating means comprise a longitudinally displaceable hollowcylinder carrying spreading wedges, said clamping jaws being laterallyguided and supported on said cylinder with the interposition of saidspreading wedges.

9. A drilling machine as defined in claim 8, wherein the front end ofsaid hollow cylinder is constructed as an annular piston.

10. A drilling machine as defined in claim 6, wherein said hollowcylinder at its rear end carries a further annular piston effective inthe same direction as the first said annular piston.

11. A drilling machine as defined in claim 8, wherein each clamping jawhas a face disposed for abutting against the housing and a face disposedfor abutting against the hollow cylinder, said faces being in theirabutting positions when said hollow cylinder is in its forward endposition.

12. A drilling machine as defined in claim 11, comprising cover platespivotally connected by one end to front ends of said clamping jaws, forcovering portions of said windows not occupied by said clamping jaws,said cover plates being slidable with their other end on said housing.

13. A drilling machine as defined in claim 12, and comprising leafsprings mounted on the housing and engaging said cover plates for urgingsaid other ends of said cover plates into slidable engagement With-saidhousing.

14. A drilling machine as defined in claim 13, wherein said cover plateshave bevelled end edges providing engagement ramps for the free ends ofsaid leaf springs.

15. A self-propelled drilling machine comprising in combination, a rigidhousing; a radial guide bearing at the front end of the housing; adrilling tool rotatably mounted by said radial guide bearing and of asize suitable to bore a hole into which said housing can pass; a drivingmechanism disposed in said housing and coupled to said drilling tool fordriving the same; an advancing mechanism disposed in said housing foradvancing said machine in the bore hole; and ,a guide device at the rearof the housing for guiding the housing in said bore hole, said guidedevice comprising a plurality of elongated skid members mounted in theregion of the front ends thereof on a rear end portion of said housingeach tiltable about a tilting axis transverse to the axis of thehousing, and remote control adjusting means acting at least on one ofsaid skid members for tilting the same about its tilting axis to therebychange the drilling direction of the machine.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,090,919 3/1914 Kitsee 175941,484,065 2/1924 Gould 17594 2,141,111 12/1938 Mitchell 175-2102,233,692 3/1941 Bryant 175-210 2,481,009 9/1949 Gill 17594 2,637,5275/1953 Andrews 17594 2,643,860 6/1953 Koch 17599 2,769,614 11/1956 Zeni17594 2,910,274 10/1959 Scott 175-103 3,005,627 10/1961 Tinlin 175-94 X3,117,634 1/1964 Persson 175-94 3,185,225 5/1965 Ginnies 17594 CHARLESE. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD E. FAVREAU, Assistant Examiner.

1. A SELF-PROPELLED DRILLING MACHINE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A RIGIDHOUSING; A RADIAL GUIDE BEARING AT THE FRONT END OF SAID HOUSING; ADRILLING TOOL ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID RADIAL GUIDE BEARING AND OF ASIZE SUITABLE TO BORE A HOLE INTO WHICH SAID HOUSING CAN PASS; A DRIVINGMECHANISM IN SAID HOUSING AND COUPLED TO SAID DRILLING TOOL FOR DRIVINGTHE SAME; AN ADVANCING MECHANISM DISPOSED IN SAID HOUSING FOR ADVANCINGTHE MACHINE IN THE BORE HOLE AND COMPRISING ROLLERS DISPOED ON THEPERIPHERY OF SAID HOUSING, SHAFTS TRANSVERSELY MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSINGAND EACH CARRYING A PAIR OF SAID ROLLERS RESPECTIVELY ON OPPOSITE ENDPORTIONS OF SAID SHAFTS, STEEPPITCH SCREW THREADS FORMED AT SAID ENDPORTIONS OF SAID SHAFTS AND IN ENGAGEMENT WITH CORRESPONDING STEEP-PITCHSCREW THREADS FORMED IN BORES OF SAID ROLLERS SPRINGS ACTING ON SAIDROLLERS FOR URGING THE SAME OUTWARDLY, AND GEAR MEANS COUPLING SAIDROLLERS TO SAID DRIVING MECHANISM; AND A GUIDE DEVICE AT HE REAR OF SAIDHOUSING FOR GUIDING SAID HOUSING IN SAID BORE HOLE.